How I Fell In Love With Weight Training

Fitness, specifically weight training, has been my gateway to escape from stress and allows me a true goal to work towards. It allows me to understand that I am truly working towards a tangible goal with every workout session that I endure.

I’ve always loved to play sports. From shooting hoops at the neighborhood basketball court to playing football in the open grass-filled fields, fitness has resonated well with me. When it comes to physical activity, that is where I shine the brightest and my fitness journey has helped me a great deal in doing so.

However, we all have to start from the bottom (just ask Drake). I began my fitness journey the summer after my freshman year of high school. I tried out for the football team but I was just a skinny 14-year-old boy who weighed as light as paper.

Rocking the skinny look back in freshman year of high school (2012)

I did not have a clue on how to lift weights so I researched some videos on YouTube and that is where it all began. I stumbled upon a 10-minute ab workout video through a channel called SixPackShortcuts.

Mike Chang (retired) from SixPackShortcuts.

I spent hours watching Mike, who’s the trainer, explain the different types of exercises and how to properly perform them. I absorbed all of the knowledge, began writing down a list of workouts that I would do when I get to the YMCA and began pumping out those gains at the gym! I still remember the first time I worked out and the sensation of feeling the “pump” gets me itching for more. When I put on my headphones and focused on my workout, it got me in a mood that for me, is only attainable through the legitimate physical struggle of moving weights around. This is when I fell in love with weight training.

I continued my fitness drive throughout high school and found dear companions that shared the same mindset as I did. In my junior year of high school, my friend and I began our high school’s first weight training club.

Edmund and I pitching our weight training club at the school’s club fair.

We had planned to create a team that would compete in local lifting competitions but the first 2 years of the club proved to be a rough ride. We understood that our lofty goal wouldn’t take place until after we graduated, but we wanted to implement these fitness seeds into our high school community so that one day, competing in local lifting competitions would be possible. Having been a leader for a fitness community taught me a lot about educating and inspiring others to pursue their fitness journey. This stage in my journey was a major catalyst to me because it has taught me to become more technical with my fitness knowledge and fueled my passion for spreading fitness love throughout the world.

Moving on, I found my place here at Fit University. I serve as a student ambassador at Boston University and my fitness journey has been quite the ride. I have found a great fitness community that connects throughout different parts of the country from the multiple university chapters and it is a great platform to educate and inspire fitness to college students. Fitness will always be my gateway to challenges as I embark on a new set of challenges at Boston University.

Author Roger Xie

Roger is a sophomore at Boston University, majoring in Mechanical Engineering. He is a lab advisor in the Tinker Lab at BU and works on the fundraising team for Engineers Without Borders to help send their travel team to implement BU's engineering designs into a community in Zambia. He enjoys playing pick-up basketball at the fitness and recreation center on Friday nights and loves to get his sweat on whenever working out. You can check him out at @rogerxie on Instagram.

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